Franks says Iraq deaths price for security

Gen. Tommy Franks, 57, speaks at a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of Operation Enduring Freedom in this Oct. 7, 2002, file photo at at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Those who count the increasing number of American soldiers killed in Iraq are missing the bigger picture, retired Gen. Tommy Franks said Saturday night May 20, 2006. "What we're talking about is neither 2,400, 24,000 or 240,000 lives," Franks said at the National Rifle Association's annual banquet. "Terrorism is a thing that threatens our way of life. It doesn't have anything to do with politics."
(AP Photo/Scott Martin, File)

By Colin Fly, Associated Press Writer | May 22, 2006

MILWAUKEE --Those who count the increasing number of American soldiers killed in Iraq are missing the bigger picture, retired Gen. Tommy Franks said Saturday night.

"What we're talking about is neither 2,400, 24,000 or 240,000 lives," Franks said at the National Rifle Association's annual banquet. "Terrorism is a thing that threatens our way of life. It doesn't have anything to do with politics."

More than 2,400 soldiers have died since the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, the plan for which Franks developed and executed. He also oversaw combat in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"I watched as America changed," Franks said. "That's not near done. We have to secure ourselves. We have to secure our Constitution."

During his 30-minute speech, Franks took an occasional jab at the media and fellow generals for attacking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.